image by Fahd Vahidy
We are writing with an invitation to you – to each of us in our CLP alumni community.
As you already know, many entities across the U.S. and the world have created and shared their statements of solidarity. Speaking up, speaking out – for justice, fairness, health of all kinds.
We are inviting you – all 574 of us alumni from 30 cohorts so far – to share yours. And in sharing yours, to co-create CLP’s.
CLP is what we make of it. CLP is us. CLP is shaped by how we show up, what we say, what we do, which values we lead and act with, with whom (and how) we work and plan and play and mourn and celebrate.
We are witnesses to history in the making. Some moments are newly-illuminating certain struggles; other moments are continuing centuries-old movements for justice, belonging, human dignity, and genuine equality.
We are witnesses to the most recent manifestations of persistent and systemic racism in the continued killings of black and brown lives.
We are witnesses to a global pandemic and its impact, including disparate negative consequences on communities of color. We are witnesses to fragile and unjust systems that disproportionately impact the poor.
And, we are witnesses to courageous leadership, thoughtful action and profound compassion. We are witnesses to unapologetic truth-telling and deep listening. Deconstructing systems of oppression. Local and global movements led and re-energized by black and brown youth, organizers, activists and allies.
We are witnesses to the undaunted efforts of health care providers and essential workers, on the multiple front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The story of Now is being created. What we imagine individually and collectively – what is possible – is expanding.
What is your statement? How are you showing up? How will you show up? What commitments are you living or evolving into right now? 10 words or 100, please share with us in the Responses section below.
This is the first entirely open blog entry for CLP alumni. We invite and encourage you to grow the content by participating in it as you are called to do so. We’ll leave it open. (Note: responses are able to be edited by the author after posting.)
In solidarity & community,
-Lara Herscovitch (Cohort 10) and Fahd Vahidy (Cohort 7)
Be the first to respond is a lot of pressure, but here goes.
One of the rituals we have developed at Clifford Beers after moving to working from home has been a “morning note” written by someone in the organization. Every day throughout the pandemic and the days where the call for justice has intensified, a different person has written an all staff email. The notes are personal and reflective, a true effort to show up authentic and real.
Perhaps some at the agency skip over them in their long email string. I know others count on it as a way to start their day. There have been funny memes, stories of parenting, working from home and most importantly voices of folks who speak first hand of the racial bias and injustice they have experienced in America. We have well over 100 of morning notes and growing. I hope one day it will serve as a documentation of our journey together through 2020.
Working from home mostly, we see folks lonely, stressed and trying hard to connect to the community of kids and families we serve. It is not easy and some people are ready to return to the office. Others are struggling with what to do for child care and/or their own health. We are walking out the return slowly and with compassion. It is the only way to manage, being gentle, accommodating and accountable. Let’s hope we can maintain that stance. Hard to do with a large organization; CLP connection and guidance is needed deeply at this time.
Nothing about this has been easy. What has been comforting though has been the efforts of connection. Watching people rise to their very best selves. Those who took on the doing and those who pressed on to lead their teams to show up for their families. It has been amazing to see the mission of the organization enacted through the chaos of disruption. I am always proud to work at Clifford Beers but prouder now more than ever to count these folks as colleagues.
We have the opportunity in the midst of this pandemic to create a new system of care for and by our families that can better serve their needs. Food, diapers, housing air conditioners, safety and laughter. Somewhere to connect with others and a place that understand that high levels of stress can do powerful things to your mind and body.
I hope we can continue to rise to the challenges placed before us. I expect we will. There is nothing better than doing work with purpose. I wish all my CLP colleagues well and miss seeing many of you in the community.
Steady on
Alice Forrester
An interesting invitation. Alice thank you for the first reply. Much therein.
What do we do now?
Were we prepared for the year, 2020? Just like the time before a volcano erupts, there was an underlying unrest among people everywhere. Here in this country, race or prejudice is not acknowledged. It’s a tough call to tell someone, I don’t like what you said because, I now see you as a prejudiced person! But it doesn’t hurt any less. I know what it’s like to face, in your face, racism for 4 years of High School. I’m talking about the kids in the class, all day. The goal was to deny me the education I also had a state right to. It took a lot, not to be drawn in to a fight.
So, what do we do now? When I was young, my biggest goal in life was to not get arrested and reach retirement age! “Sad, very sad”! Driving alone through the Southern States was uneasy at times. I got there, it wasn’t easy at all. Again, what do we do now?
We learn how to fight, when to fight and remind ourselves that it’s a long fight. Many have taken to the streets to change someone’s mind. I’m old enough to know, that I will never win an argument, because the belief is deeply rooted in people. This will make you laugh, the same people I graduated High School with, now tell me they admire the way I show up, even back then. It’s hard to not allow someone else, to push us into a negative space.
Here is the key to racism; protect a white person’s ability to make money, to feed his family. “Johnny cannot go to jail for that car accident, that left someone dead. Your Honor, how is he going to take care of his family?” Joe College football all American cannot afford to have a record just because he has been accused of rape. Doesn’t every one deserve to feed their family? Personal experience allowed me to see this first hand. So again, how do we address this?
You have to be at the table, if you want to put your opinion on the table. We have to be in the room. The next question is, how do I get a seat at the table? Let’s start with this; how did we get picked for a team sport as a kid on the playground? In that case, someone knew you had skills, you belonged in the game. The “I’m too humble to accept this award” doesn’t work anymore. If you want your voice to matter, show up as a leader with something to say. Everything begins with knowledge.
Youth of New Haven; present your case in a virtual Debate. Create a Courtroom setting and defend your needs! Use the Law to prove why the current climate needs to change. You want to be heard? Ask for help, make it a class project and expect to be graded.
As an adult, I lend my resources and experience!
Bullelephantdad and Street Professor..
Bruce A Trammell Sr CFLC
(Cohort 29)
Thank you for the opportunity to add my voice.
Human beings are in such a sad state of turmoil. There are things that are outside of the power of humanity to change; like illness at the moment. However, we can change racist polices. We can pressure our communities to monitor police interactions with citizens and remove officers whose personal racist views show up as violent and murderous crimes and harassment of people of color. We can change social and economic inequity.
So how do I show up? First, I don’t show up nearly as much as my heart and conscience want me to. I’ve centered my work life around Restorative Practices. Restorative Practices are often misunderstood to mean something you do after a harm has occurred. BUT, 80% of the work is proactive. It’s all about building fair, just, equitable, culturally competent community. I am dedicated to New Haven Public schools utilizing these practices to transform classrooms into communities where our daily practices eliminate racial bias and all other social biases.
The goal of Restorative Practices is to create norms and systems that supports the needs of every individual within that community. Restorative Practices ensure that every voice is heard and every voice is equally heard. It also requires agreements that take time but are necessary in order to reduce and eliminate systems that rely on power to gain cooperation. My professional life and most of my free time is also dedicated to this work.
Some of you may know the song, “None of us are Free” my favorite version is by Solomon Burke. They chorus reads, “None of us are free, if one of us is chained, none of us are free.” I read an article last year about exclusionary practices in schools. The commonly held thought is that when a teacher sends a kid out of a classroom s/he is ‘helping’ the kids who ‘want’ to learn. Teachers believe they are protecting other students’ educations. The article presented information that asserted that the removal of a student also has a negative impact on the students who are still in class. Some students worry about their friend or have ethical reactions to what happened. In reality the students we are ‘protecting’ are less focused on the lesson and more focused on the student who was ejected and what happened in class.
What we do to others, even for, what we believe are virtuous reasons, negatively impacts the entire community. This is not a surprise. We are all connected. What harms one person, ultimately harms all of us in some way.
I don’t have a lot of resources, but I also support organizations I admire, like the Equal Justice Initiative. I do this with personal resources, but I also hook up with organizations who give money to the organizations whose work is committed to being more socially just. I do my best not to spend money at businesses that mistreat their employees based on racial bias, gender, and/or who pay employees a wage that allows them to do more than barely survive. For example, I never shop at Walmart as an act of conscience.
When I can, I go to the State Capital and offer my testimony on issues and more often I write to representatives.
I also take the opportunity to talk to people wherever I go when I hear bias and/or opinions that are supported by misinformation and push back on racial bias and the American myths about poverty; all you have to do is pull yourself up by your bootstraps . There are times when a dialogue develops and change begins to germinate. I am sure some people think I am a pain.
I have the will to do more, but not always the energy to do as much as I would like. I struggle with that. One way I deal with that struggle, is by making sure I make some effort every day to work for equity and for community.
As a white person I believe our first move should be radical self-awareness. Many of us are “helpers” to those who are the recipients of centuries of racism and the results of it including poverty, trauma, a justice system built by white fear. It’s beautiful to “help”. But without doing the deep dive into self-awareness, and being hyper-cognizant of how our individual histories, experiences and values play into our own internalized racism, we cannot be a part of lasting change. We need to be a part of lasting change. Now is the time. Yes be “helpful” and supportive. But now is the time to do your deepest self-reflection. How do I contribute to systemic racism? How can I be accountable so my actions can forward the movement in a meaningful way? Change starts with us individually, within us. Begin there.